Facebook to release its own smart home speakers in July 2018

16 February 2018, 04:52 | Dawn Berry

Facebook Will Reportedly Launch Two Smart Speakers With Displays In July

Apple has launched "HomePod", Amazon has "Echo" smart home speaker series, while Google offers "Home" and "Home Mini". Obviously, you need to experience Facebook's many products on this device, and that's why a screen is required. The company seems to have signed deals with Sony and Universal Music, which may add more features into the smart speakers. Both devices will be among the first products to come out of Facebook'sBuilding 8 hardware division. These smart speakers will make it easy to access and consume all the social content that your friends share on Facebook, including videos with the screen, and also potentially power shopping too.

According to a report from Cheddar back in January, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg doesn't care whether Portal "generates a profit", he just wants to "change user behaviour and encourage phone-like usage".

Aloha is the nickname for the device that will ultimately be marketed as "Portal" - a name that's been previously reported - and will use voice commands, as well as other advanced features like facial recognition.

The two devices are tipped to carry 15-inch touchscreens, and would come with a host of Echo-style features.

The touchscreens are tipped to be "laptop-sized high-resolution" panels, and will be much bigger than the 7-inch display on Amazon's smart screen, the Echo Show.

We've asked Facebook for comment and will update this article with any response.

Supply chain sources said that Facebook was originally slated to release the devices in May, but has chose to reschedule the launch to allow more time for perfecting the acoustic quality of the gadgets and software modification.

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